strength has the entire east coast on edge so they are track. that see you at 6:00. >> smith: tonight big earl, a massive hurricane is picking up power s across the caribbean. is it on its way to the u.s.? i'm harry smith. and breaking news: two airline passengers detained overseas. was it a dry run for a terror attack? also tonight, the storm over plans for an islamic center near ground zero. the developer talks to "60 minutes" scott pelley. >> reporter: do you intend to go ahead with the project after all of this? >> 100%. >> smith: and steve hartman uses a globe and an atlas to prove everybody in the world has a story. captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news world headquarters in new york, this is the "cbs evening news" with katie couric.

>> smith: good evening. katie is off tonight. earl has turned into one very powerful hurricane, a category 4 with winds of 135 miles an hour and still picking up strength. at last report, the storm was about 100 miles northeast of puerto rico and moving toward the west-northwest after raking the islands of the northeast caribbean with strong wind and heavy rain. now the national hurricane center is warning residents of the u.s. east coast to keep an eye on earl. that's what don teague is doing tonight in north carolina. don, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, harry. here in hatteras, north carolina officials are already urging swimmers to stay out of the water because of dangerous surf. they are getting a little nervous here as earl churns its way through the caribbean. the first video and pictures shot by those riding out the storm posted on you-tube and twitter. heavy rain and high winds as hurricane earl roared across the

north eastern caribbean. >> there's more flooding. there's more trees down. some of the restaurants on the strip in the bay have taken a hit, a little bit of a beating. >> reporter: earl is a powerful hurricane. it's battered the islands of antigua and saint martin this morning, tearing roofs from home and knocking out electricity for thousands. >> we're all out of power. we're on generator from the hotel right now. >> reporter: it's now impacting the u.s. virgin islands and puerto rico. and those along the atlantic coast are watching it closely. >> if we get a category 2, category 3 storm heading directly from the south from long island or coastal new england that has the potential to be a pretty big disaster. >> reporter: on north carolina's outer banks those on the beach are battling dangerous rip currents created by hurricane danielle which stayed at sea but brought heavy surf. >> the surfers having a great time. we're actually catching a few

fish out here too. i think we're going to be out of here before earl comes close. >> reporter: news of hurricane earl is already causing economic damage here, as word of a possible land fall spreads, hotel cancellations are trickling in. >> we've already had one person call today and try to cancel or we're expecting more. >> reporter: while hurricane earl is still a few days away from possibly hitting the atlantic coast, the latest computer models have it passing very near these outer banks on thursday evening, so folks from here all the way north to maine are watching the forecast and the storm's track very closely. harry. >> smith: don teague in north carolina, thanks. there is breaking news at this hour. two men on a united airlines flight from chicago were detained today when the plane arrived in the netherlands. the u.s. officials say luggage belonging to one of the men contained what appeared to be mock bombs. they may have been testing the security system. justice correspondent bob orr is

in washington following the still-developing story. bob, what's the latest? >> reporter: good evening, harry. u.s. officials right now are trying to figure out if this is a real threat or not. at least it is suspicious. two men, as you say, who flew from chicago to amsterdam have been arrested in the netherlands. sources say one of the men had $7,000 in cash and what looked like mock explosive devices in two checked bags. seven cell phones, some of them we're told taped to empty bottles, and watches taped to shampoo bottles. here's the thing. the bags carrying those suspicious items did not go with all soofi on the flight to amsterdam. instead the bags went to de los airport near washington where they were confiscated by u.s. authorities. officials say al soofi who was originally heading through de los to yemen had recently changed his itinerary to the amsterdam flight. two men have been arrested in the netherlands but authorities

now tell us they are not linked to one another and the investigation at this hour is focused solely on al soofi. this does not appear to be connected to any terror threat. they don't know if he was trying to test the system. >> smith: i guess that's the thing that looks like trouble. the details are still slim as you say, bob. but it sure seems like one of these guys was trying to probe the system at minimum. >> reporter: it's a possibility. that's why they have to check it out. i have to tell you these were amateurish, mock devices, and the very kind of thing that security is designed to find. tsa did find them on a flight from birmingham to chicago and deemed them benign. that's why they were allowed to go to chicago and on. the question really is how did they get on a plane to washington when he wasn't on the plane too. >> smith: a good question. bob orr, thank you very much tonight in washington. to the controversy over plans to build an islamic center near ground zero here in new york. we hear tonight from two key figures involved in the project. in a newspaper interview, the opposition is being led by what he called a tiny vociferous

minority. the issue he says is not between muslims and non-muslims but between moderates and radicals of all faiths. then there is the man who first came up with the idea for the islamic center and bought the property for it. he talked to "60 minutes" scott pelley. >> it's very surreal. it's a very surreal experience to be in the middle of this storm. >> reporter: sharif el gamal is a manhattan real estate developer who sat down with us because he says he wants to clear up misconceptions about his project, its funding and himself. who are you? >> i'm an american. i'm a new yorker. born in methodist hospital in brooklyn. to a polish-catholic mother, to an egyptian father. >> reporter: make sure i have this straight. you're a muslim who married a christian girl. your mother is catholic.

and you joined the jewish community center on the west side of manhattan. >> i did. that's new york though. that's new york. >> reporter: this facility that is being debated all around the world is universally known as the ground zero mosque. what do you call it? >> it should be universally known as a hub of culture, a hub of co-existence, a hub of bringing people together. >> reporter: this is the hub he's talking about: an abandoned burlington coat factory store two blocks from ground zero. you can't see the world trade center site from here. el gamal intends to put in a swimming pool, cooking school, meeting hall and, yes, an islamic prayer room. did it occur to you when you were putting this together that that was two blocks too close to a place that many, many people feel very strongly about? >> not at all. it did not even cross my mind once. >> reporter: why not?

>> because i did not hold myself or my faith accountable for that tragedy. >> reporter: el gamal didn't spring this on the neighborhood. he says it took eight years to negotiate the purchase. you don't have your choice of putting this anywhere you want to. there aren't many spots. >> of course not. it's not like you can just walk up and say i want that building or i want that building. this is one of the most competitive marketplaces in the world. >> reporter: over the last year, he took the proposal to a community board four times. it was approved every time. the president himself has agreed that you have the right. some people question the wisdom. >> it matched the needs of my community. it matched the needs of my muslim brothers and sisters, my christian brothers and sisters, my jewish brothers and sisters who live and work in lower manhattan. >> reporter: do you intend to go ahead with the project?

after all of this? >> 100%. >> smith: sharif el gamal told scott he will not take any money for the project from hamas or any other organization that has as he put it "unamerican values." the casualties mount in afghanistan. seven americans were killed by roadside bombs in two separate attacks, one of them just outside khandahar. since saturday 14 u.s. service members have died in the afghan war. in iraq u.s. combat operations will officially end tomorrow. vice president joe biden flew to baghdad today for a ceremony marking that milestone. he's also there to push iraqi leaders to end the six-month-old stalemate that has prevented them from forming a new government. president obama will mark the change of mission in iraq tomorrow with an address to the nation at 8:00 p.m. eastern time. cbs news will, of course, bring you live coverage. in other news, former pitching

ace roger clemens struck a pose today not for a baseball card but for a mug shot. clemens pleaded not guilty to lying to congress about whether he used steroids. it was an intriguing match-up, one of baseball's greatest pitchers facing federal judge reggie walton, known among lawyers as "long ball" for imposing lengthy prison terms. more now from armen keteyian. >> my gosh. >> reporter: on the mound roger clemens fed off intimidation, a nasty, mean man with the overpowering stuff to match. >> announcer: now the benches have cleared. >> reporter: in federal court today, the seven-time cy young award winner is baseball's best pitcher affected a different attitude. relaxed as he pleaded not guilty to charges that he lied to congress about his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs. >> lying to congress is a serious and felonious offense. we take it very, very seriously. >> do you solemnly swear.... >> reporter: in a february 2008

congressional hearing, clemens repeatedly and often heatedly denied under oath the use of anabolic steroids or human growth hormone. both banned by major league baseball. >> let me be clear. i have never taken steroids or h.g.h. >> announcer: he struck him out. >> reporter: but the government wasn't convinced. a federal grand jury ultimately believing former yankees' teammate andy pettitte who testified clemens told him he had used h.g.h. clemens' former trainer who charged he injected clemens with illegal performance- boosting drugs at least three dozen times between 1998 and 2001. >> i injected those drugs into the body of roger clemens at his direction. >> reporter: a trial is now set for april of next year. if convicted clemens likely faces between 15 and 21 months in prison. a prospect the pitcher appeared to be tuning out as he headed for a golf tournament in south carolina. armen keteyian, cbs news, new york. >> smith: an update now on that recall of more than a half billion eggs, possibly tainted

with salmonella. today the fda said its inspectors found rodents, manure and magets and maneur the two iowa farms at the center of the recall. more than 1,400 salmonella cases may be linked to tainted eggs. coming up next on the "cbs evening news": what's behind a large increase in concussions among young athletes. and later, steve hartman with a man who may just have the biggest lats in latvia. when i brush, i like to do a really mediocre job. i love running my tongue across my teeth and feeling all the stuff i missed. [ male announcer ] no one really wants plaque left on their teeth, done. [ male announcer ] but ordinary manual brushes can leave up to 50% of plaque behind. oral-b power brushes are inspired by the tools professionals use, to clean away plaque in ways a manual brush can't. for that dentist-smooth, clean feeling every day.

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and our special fiber helps our probiotics so that you can show those symptoms who's in charge. this isn't even my floor. [ elevator bell dings ] >> smith: peter lens's father said his son died doing what he loved. the 13-year-old amateur motorcycle racer was killed yesterday in a crash in indianapolis. he had been a rising star in the racing world. this video shows him riding a bike at 125 miles an hour. today race organizers said they will not launch a formal investigation into his death, but they will review their safety procedures. motorcycle racing is not the only dangerous sport. a new study says there's been a sharp increase in concussions among young athletes playing other sports such as football and soccer. over a ten-year period, emergency-room visits for concussions among middle-school aged children nearly doubled. medical correspondent dr. jennifer ashton has more about this. jennifer, good evening.

>> reporter: good evening, harry. some of this dramatic increase is due to the growing awareness of the dangers of concussions, but experts say many cases still go unreported. >> go, go. >> reporter: like so many competitive young athletes, 17- year-old zoe loveman loves to play hard. >> i went out for a header with another player. and as i was coming down she was still sort of making her up to the ball i guess. we knocked heads. both fell to the floor. >> reporter: zoe suffered a concussion which occurs when the brain strikes the inside of the skull. this causes swelling within brain cells and disrupts electrical signals. young brains are particularly vulnerable, even in helmets. after football, girls' soccer is the second leading cause of concussions. >> i remember crying after the game saying i just want to go to bed. i don't want to do anything. i want to close my eyes. >> reporter: a new study finds that e.r. visits for sports- reeled concussions in kids ages 14 to 19 more than tripled in ten years.

>> our biggest fear is that if they have a concussion and it's not showing obvious signs and they continue to play and put themselves at further risk. >> reporter: today new guidelines say injured athletes should stay sidelined at least ten days or much longer. they should also rest their brains and avoid reading, texting, and watching tv. >> if you've injured your knee you won't run on it or try and do sports on that knee if it's not ready for it yet. we need to be treating the brain exactly the same way. >> reporter: zoe's school is one of a growing number that tests athletes' mental function at the beginning of a season so doctors and coaches with tell better if they've been injured. the signs are not always obvious. concussions don't usually show up on brain scans. most of the times patients have not lost consciousness, harry. >> smith: there's another big health study out tonight. it's about c-sections in this country. it found that one in three first-time mothers has a c- section these days. what's that all about? >> well, a couple of factors, harry. first of all more women are

having their labors induced. we know this particular group is at two-times the risk for a c- sections. mothers tend to be a little bit older, more obese. both of those can factor into the increase as well. this is not a trend we're likely to see reversed in the near future because once a woman has a c-section she's more likely to have future babies delivered the same way. >> reporter: dr. jennifer ashton, thanks so much. we'll be right back. much. we'll be right back. peggy? sure...well...suddenly it looks like i'm being charged a $35 annual fee. yes? tell me it's a mistake. yes? are you saying yes or are you asking yes? yes? peggy? peggy? anncr: want better customer service? switch to discover. ranked #1 in customer loyalty. it pays to discover.

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they had 30 people and an idea. meg's job was to make it happen. it took leadership. focus. and the ability to bring people together. meg whitman delivered. named one of america's best ceo's by harvard business review, she grew ebay 15,000 strong and made small business dreams come true. now meg has a plan to create jobs. fix sacramento. and deliver results. meg whitman. for a new california. >> smith: this is day 26 for those 33 miners trapped in a

cave-in in chile. today, work began on a tunnel on get them out. it could take four months to drill down 2,000 feet to reach them. in a video released sunday the miners are seen shirtless in the stifling heat but they say they are doing better since food was sent down and they talked to their families by phone. from survival underground to a death-defying feat high above the so-called french spiderman climbed a tower in sidney australia today. no ropes. just his bare hands and climbing shoes. it took about 20 minutes. he was arrested at the top. robert, who is 48, has scaled more than 70 sky scrapers this time to bring attention to climate change. if there's a word for a man like robert, you'll no doubt find it in the oxford english dictionary but soon the publisher says the dictionary may be found only online. sales for the print editions are way down but the dictionary's web site gets two million hits a

month from paying subscribers. a big change could be in the works for the u.s. auto industry. today the obama administration proposed putting letter grades on new cars from "a" to "d," based on fuel efficiency and admissions. the aim is to have the rules take effect in 2012 model year. coming up next everybody in the world has a story. we'll hear his next. [ male announcer ] this is steven, a busy man. his day starts with his arthritis pain. that's breakfast with two pills. the morning is over, it's time for two more pills. the day marches on, back to more pills. and when he's finally home... but hang on; just two aleve can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is steven, who chose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain.

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more than 2 hours to the school day... next on cbs 5 >> smith: finally tonight steve hartman is traveling the world in search of people with interesting stories. last we heard he was in the australian outback where he had just had a run-in with the camel. more about that when he returns. in the meantime we bring you an encore "everybody in the world has a story." >> lift-off. >> reporter: when the shuttle atlantis took off last november, it was also carrying something for cbs. a highly sophisticated news- gathering tool called an inflatable globe. >> ready? >> reporter: its purpose?

to help astronaut jeff williams determine where my next story lies which in this case is this place. a town in the former soviet state of latvia called leipaja. it is a port town of roughly 90,000 people which i had to narrow down to one. he told me to meet him at his gym where the first thing i noticed, the first thing you can't help but notice is that the guy is built. wow! i thought that was a mirror when i first walked in. get this. he's 50. 50 years old with arms that defy sleeves and a back like a relief map of switzerland. handsome, lovely wife, beautiful family. from a man's perspective there's a lot to hate about jamaris sveiduks. but fortunately there's a lot to love about his story. >> it could sound surprising.

>> reporter: as a kid, he was diagnosed with hepatitis. it left him scrawny and weak which is why this struck him like it did. the movie "hercules." he said seeing body builder steve reeves was the pivotal moment of his life. >> i decided i want to be like him and i will be like him. >> reporter: unfortunately his body wasn't so many like hercules as it was pee wee herman. he had no clue how to begin training and there wasn't a soul in communist latvia who would dare teach him. of all the things the communist party was paranoid about perhaps the most bizarre was body building. it was fine with olympic weightlifting but body building was deemed too american and outlawed. >> they can remember you. you were this guy who likes western culture so you are not like we want. >> reporter: undeterred, young

maris turned to the black market. sailors would often smuggle in contraband which is how he got his first muscle mag. it cost him a week's wages. later he bought more, learned more, trained more. to make a long scrap book short, after the collapse of communism, guess who got on the cover of a lot of those same magazines? >> when you gain independence, to get in an american magazine, that's a big achievement. >> reporter: i bet it was. >> don't let them mess with your mind. dream and cherish it. >> reporter: maris sveiduks cover model for body building, poster child for fortitude. steve hartman, cbs news, latvia. >> smith: that's the "cbs evening news" for katie couric, i'm harry smith. thanks for joining us. i'll see you in the morning on the early show. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

that may have saved that officer's life. the gang that may have helped a man in the shooting of a fremont police officer and the cab ride that may have saved his life. the school year begins. why students won't be able to take advantage of the books in their own libraries. plus, some bay area students are putting more into their schoolday. how about three hours more? good evening, i'm dana king. >> i'm allen martin. the news starts enough now. tonight andrew barrientos is awaiting a trip back to the bay area. police say they have a good idea of the suspect's background, accused of shooting a cop. phil matier looked into it including his affiliation with a gang you may have never